Is NYC a Safe Place?

A very good friend of mine explained a horrific incident which occurred two weeks ago.

Richard was on his morning run under the Brooklyn Bridge closest to the FDR drive. He had just put on his earphones and was tuning to his favorite music. He had a lot on his mind and wanted to clear his head. In addition he was trying to maintain his recent weight loss. While jogging, he noticed that there weren’t anyone around which isn’t typical of Manhattan. Normally, there are trucks and noisy sirens of police cars and ambulance, kids yelling, screeching cars and more. However, Richard was not perturbed. This was his city, his stomping ground so to speak. He loved New York and hated it at the same time. Not too long into his jog, his internal alarm system went off. He thought, “Something is off; not right”. As he slowly turns his to the right, he sees a man with his hands in his pocket making the shape of a gun closing in on him. Adrenaline kicked in and he ran and lunged toward the armed young man, knocked him off balance and the gun which he had suspected splattered away from them. Richard didn’t stop there, he started punching him, kicking and he punched until finally and luckily for him NYPD showed on the scene. “I could have murdered him!” The cops had no idea what happened. Both parties were ordered to explain. Richard out of breath, nervous and scared sputtered an incoherent story. What saved him was that he had identification which proved he was in his neighborhood and a victim. In the end, the other guy was arrested.

When I initially heard the story, I was shocked and worried for my friend. In a previous conversation, he told me that he wanted to leave the city and head back home. Home was his beloved and cherished Haiti. Maybe this was a sign that he needed to just pack up and leave. “Nowhere is safe not even Haiti with their recently improved policing system.” “You’re right, I thought because I was thinking of relocating back to New York myself, but more Long Island. Had he not been shrewd and missed his chance to protect himself, he wouldn’t be here today.

So what is the lesson here? Is there a lesson to be learned? Is it just that the world is becoming increasingly violent and chaotic. Is it the end of time? Was this a wake- up call for my friend in some fashion? In my opinion, there is always a hidden message and only that person can interpret it’s message. The question is, “Are we paying attention?”